Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sao Paulo vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Sao Paulo is 52.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 59.3% less in Sao Paulo
- Groceries
-
pay 47.1% less in Sao Paulo
- Transportation
-
pay 27.8% less in Sao Paulo
- Housing
-
pay 73.1% less in Sao Paulo
- Childcare
-
pay 71.2% less in Sao Paulo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 67.2% less in Sao Paulo
- Clothing
-
pay 23.6% less in Sao Paulo
Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and transportation are lower in Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sao Paulo instead of Washington, you would:
pay 59.3% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$7.83
R$42.57
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$7.45
R$40.54
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$1.22
R$6.64
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$0.87
R$4.73
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of restaurants
pay 47.1% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$1.91
R$10.39
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$5.88
R$31.96
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.98
R$21.63
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$2.66
R$14.48
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$2.09
R$11.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.28
R$6.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.85
R$4.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$0.74
R$4.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$0.88
R$4.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.66
R$3.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.59
R$3.20
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of groceries
pay 27.8% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.28
R$23.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$46.58
R$253.39
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$22,360.53
R$121,627.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$7.45
R$40.54
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of transportation
pay 73.1% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$20.82
R$113.24
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$671.45
R$3,652.30
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$417.23
R$2,269.46
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$46.29
R$251.79
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of housing
pay 71.2% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$484.48
R$2,635.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$15,731.99
R$85,572.56
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of childcare
pay 67.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$2.24
R$12.16
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$2.13
R$11.57
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$2.63
R$14.32
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$31.73
R$172.57
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$8.39
R$45.61
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.6% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$54.85
R$298.37
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$45.57
R$247.86
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$87.31
R$474.90
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$74.26
R$403.92
|
|
Washington vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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